The present invention relates to a system for creating, editing, and displaying digital photographs and similar electronically created images. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system which allows a photographer to upload and display photographs in a digital photo album.
Digital photography has largely replaced the chemical-based labor-intensive processes of conventional photography. The advantage of digital over conventional photography are too numerous to mention, but suffice it to say that one entire industry has nearly disappeared only to be replaced by the other.
Photographs taken by digital methods can be displayed on computers, cameras, laptops, cell phones, etc. To capture these photos for safekeeping, the photographer can have the digital images printed and/or saved to a disk or memory card. The photographer can also upload images to digital photo albums. From camera to computer, video displays are now the most prevalent viewing method, with printed photos running a distant second.
For all of the advantages digital photography offers, the final presentation of images on video displays leaves something to be desired even though it has nothing to do with the quality of current displays. Even the screen of a smart phone is capable of rendering stunning images, while computer monitors and tablets offer larger and even higher quality images. The problem is that these devices all share a common flaw: their rectangular shape, which makes the ability to view a series of still photographs seem more like an afterthought, a last minute feature added to a video display.
The problem is most evident when photos are viewed on television and computer monitors because, in addition to being rectangular, their physical orientation is fixed in the horizontal/landscape position. This means that when a person views a vertical/portrait photo, it must be compressed by 50% to fit within the short side (height) of the screen. On the other hand, when a user displays a horizontal/landscape image on the horizontal/landscape positioned screen, the image fills 100% of the screen. When one considers a slideshow where some images fill the entire screen, while other images are half-sized the problem becomes apparent. The situation is better with tablets, digital photo frames or smart phones. They are portable and can be easily rotated to match their orientation to the image but require many steps while viewing a slideshow.
Despite all of the advances that have been made in video displays, the problem of inconsistent image sizing has not been addressed. The present invention contemplates elimination of drawbacks associated with conventional photography systems and provision of a system that maintains equal image size of a photograph regardless of orientation.